November 18, 2022
Dear Peace members and friends,
It’s hard to believe but it’s Thanksgiving week just around the corner! I hope that your plans and preparations are going well.
And what better way to begin the week than to come to worship on Sunday! It is our second Sunday in a two-week stewardship emphasis, “On Giving Thanks.” Why give thanks? When you think about it, our church—any church—is a community of thanks, offering gratitude to God. And as we give thanks and gratitude, our attention turns toward trust in God and love for one another.
Last Sunday, we expressed that gratitude to God by once again offering up some of our time and talents to the work of ministry at Peace. This week, we will pledge some of our income toward the congregation’s ministry. The Peace Choir and Alleluia Choir will sing and we’ll gather around the altar for Holy Communion (also known as the “Eucharist,” which literally means, “thanksgiving”!) and we’ll sing our gratitude in some wonderful hymns of the season. A joyful Sunday ahead!
What can you do to contribute to the joy? Bring a pie to the Pie Fest following worship! Join us in the Parish Hall to visit together and enjoy the varied pie offerings from us all.
And some more thanks. My thanks to you and the whole congregation for your offering that enabled Harvest Pack last Sunday, and thanks to the many of you who packed and set-up that morning. You packed 15,000 meals! They will be distributed to local schools and school children. It was a terrific effort! Thank you.
Last of all, I wish all of you a grateful Thanksgiving, joyful reunions, and safe travel. As you know, Thanksgiving is a national holiday. Presidents from Washington, to Adams, to Madison to Lincoln declared days of Thanksgiving. They wanted to remind us of that the blessings this country and its citizens enjoyed were gifts from God, gifts that were easy to take for granted.
Abraham Lincoln’s declaration (written by Secretary of State William Seward) puts this eloquently—even amid the Civil War: “The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.”
As you go about this busy week, take a few moments this week to recognize, and give thanks to God for, the everyday blessings and gifts of our lives.
See you Sunday!
Mark